Magic Ring Tutorial

I use the Magic Ring for a lot of my designs because it makes a nice tight and neat center for blocks and motifs.  Its easy too - here's how to make it...


Begin with the yarn tail to the left and the working yarn to the right.

Make a loop like this...

Insert your hook through the loop, from front to back, catch the working yarn and pull a loop through to the front.

Chain 1.

Ta Da, now you are ready to work the first round.  Work over the yarn tail as you go.

When the first round is complete, tug on the yarn tail to pull the loop closed.

When you've finished your motif, make sure to sew the yarn tail in securely to stop the Magic Loop from loosening up.

Happy Hooking!
Leonie

I'm excited!!

Oh boy, I'm so excited I can't sit still.  My Man has offered to make me a wool storage unit!!!

~swoon~ 

We have a pile of ply board with no use which has been threatened with a trip to the skip. After some thought, I announced it would be perfect for my dream cupboard.  A pigeon hole type structure, with plenty of space for future wool purchases and enough for my current wool stash.  I measured the space in my Room of Wonder (which isn't very wonderful yet, buy slowly getting there) and declared what was needed.  MM said it could be done but wouldn't look very nice being made of ply board.  'Fear not,' I said.  He then took up a pen and sketched a plan...

Yippee!!!  I can't wait. I'll have 60 pigeon holes, each big enough to hold 9 balls of 100g or 18 balls of 50g, at a squeeze.  I have plans to make it look gorgeous with either paint, wallpaper, fabrics, or all three.  I'm going to sit and sip my tea, dreaming of my wool unit and calming down.

Oh, I'm so excited!!!

Saturday morning - heavy drizzle

I'm desperate to go out and walk in the woods, the bluebells are out and the trees are decked in new, bright green leaves.  The weather this morning is rubbish (heavy drizzle) so I'm doing a bit of crochet in the hopes that it will be brighter later.  I'm not sure what I'm making.  Is it a baby blanket or what?

I've made little squares in baby colors and then stuffed them with a clump of poly stuffing.  Now, I'm joining the puff squares together, so we'll see what it becomes.

Sunshine

Yes, gorgeous sunshine!  I was alarmed to see a big yellow thing sat in the sky this morning. Where are the slate grey, rain clouds?  I ventured out to take a closer look and, gradually, a little memory of sunshine tickled the back of my mind. The memory grew until I could recall days in the seemingly distant past that had the big yellow thing in the sky.  The warmth from it, while disconcerting at first, soon eased my concerns that the sky might fall.  Yes, it isn't the end of the world, I told myself. It's the sun.

Not wanting to miss a second of the gorgeous sunshine, I gathered my work basket and picked a seat in the sun.  Ooo, the bliss of warm sun!!  Its certainly set off the designing section of my brain - its whirring and clicking away and my hands are forming new crochet patterns.  Crochet doilies - yippee! 

Starburst Ripple

Hope you all had a lovely Easter and plenty of chocolate eggs.  I didn't get one this year, not one :(  Probably for the best though, as crocheting all day makes certain body areas spread alarmingly.

I've made another starburst blanket for Cumbrian Country Crafts.  I love the colours in this one, really pretty!

One day I'll make one for myself in these colours!

Have a great weekend and Happy Hooking!
Leonie x

Guest Blog Post

Pop over to SMP Crafts to read my guest blog post about choosing color combinations.  There's also a giveaway of my crochet book and some gorgeous yarn open to folks in the US and Canada.

A Granny Blanket

Even though I've been knitting the Monster Blanket, I've done some crocheting too.  Here's one I've just finished...

 Its a twin (single) sized blanket, edged and joined in olive.  Made for Cumbrian Country Crafts.

Oh, crochet is so much quicker than knitting!